Kevin Hassett returned to Larry Kudlow’s show the other day, once again reiterating the danger that the (forced) switch to EVs represents to those working in the auto sector. Link here.
Meanwhile from the AP (September 16):
Biden is trying to turbocharge the market for electric vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent China from solidifying its grip on a growing industry. His signature legislation, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, includes billions of dollars in incentives to get more clean cars on the roads.
“Clean cars.”
Not so. Cleaner cars would be accurate (under certain conditions).
Then again, the AP has its responsibilities.
The Associated Press announced today it will significantly expand its climate coverage, creating a standalone desk that will enhance the global understanding of climate change and its impact across the world.
The expansion is supported by several philanthropic organizations, including the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Quadrivium and The Rockefeller Foundation. AP retains complete editorial control of all content.
“Unbiased, fact-based journalism has never been more important or imperiled,” said Larry Kramer, president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. “The Associated Press has, for over a century, played a crucial role reporting on the most pressing issues of our time, including climate change. The climate initiative will build on AP’s legacy of independent journalism and help millions better understand the impact of the climate crisis and counter climate-related misinformation.”
“We are proud to be supporting a trusted nonpartisan global news source to expand fact-based, localized climate reporting at this crucial time,” said Quadrivium Foundation Co-founder and President Kathryn Murdoch. “Effectively communicating the threats of climate change and the opportunities of a clean energy transition is an essential precursor to building public will for policy change.”
“The more we shine a light on the very real-world dangers and effects of climate change, the more political leaders, businesses and civil society will come together on solutions,” said Eileen O’Connor, The Rockefeller Foundation’s senior vice president for communications, policy and advocacy. “We really are all in this together and we have to understand that only collective, global action that ensures a more rapid and equitable transition to renewable energy for everyone, everywhere will mitigate the danger.”
“Effectively communicating the threats of climate change and the opportunities of a clean energy transition is an essential precursor to building public will for policy change” — this, of course, is not to be confused with propaganda.
But back to the AP and the UAW strike:
Some in the UAW fear the transition will cost jobs because electric vehicles require fewer people to assemble. Although there will be new opportunities in the production of high-capacity batteries, there’s no guarantee that those factories will be unionized and they’re often being planned in states more hostile to organized labor.
As Kevin Hassett has once again explained, “some in the UAW” have good reason to be concerned. More on this topic here, here, here, here, and here.
And here’s Diana Furchtgott-Roth writing in Capital Matters today:
Ford Motor Company president Bob Farley estimates that the industry will need 40 percent fewer workers to produce EVs rather than gas-powered cars and light trucks. That’s 200,000 fewer jobs in 2030 and 400,000 fewer jobs in the long run.
Dwindling jobs lead to dwindling income. Many of the new jobs in EVs and batteries with Inflation Reduction Act funding are being created in right-to-work states, where wages are lower and workers do not have to join a union as a condition of employment.
Other jobs are being created in China, which has a lock on a substantial share of minerals required for EV batteries such as lithium, graphite, and cobalt. Mindful of the world’s concerns about China’s dominance in this area, Beijing is setting up factories in Indonesia to take advantage of minerals there, and the Chinese-built high-speed rail across the country from Jakarta to Bandung opened this month.
AP:
The union is demanding steep raises and better benefits, and it’s escalating the pressure with its targeted strike. Brittany Eason, who has worked for 11 years at the Ford Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, said workers are worried that they’ll “be pushed out by computers and electric vehicles.”
“How do you expect people to work with ease if they’re in fear of losing their jobs?” said Eason, who planned to walk the picket line this weekend. Electric vehicles may be inevitable, she said, but changes need to be made “so everybody can feel secure about their jobs, their homes and everything else.”
Biden on Friday acknowledged the tension in remarks from the White House, saying the transition to clean energy “should be fair and a win-win for autoworkers and auto companies.”
Well, it won’t be. And the way things are going, it may well mean disaster for the auto companies before too long.
Meanwhile, keep an eye on what is going on over in Europe.
Bloomberg (September 13) (my emphasis added):
If a surge in government support for strategic industries risks fueling a global subsidy war, then the European Union may have just sparked one of its biggest battles.
With European officials fearing millions of auto jobs are at risk from China’s surging electric vehicle exports, the bloc’s executive arm on Wednesday launched an investigation into Beijing’s financial support for the EV industry.
The probe, which could take up to nine months, will probably lead to new EU tariffs on Chinese EV imports and embroil major non-European automakers like Tesla Inc., which produce cars in China for export to the bloc.
The move may lead to tariffs close to the 27.5% level already imposed by the US on Chinese EVs, according to a person familiar with the matter.